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Tony Amendola is an American actor who is best known for his recurring role as the Jaffa Master Bra'tac in Stargate SG-1.

Though his last name implies Italian origins, Tony Amendola was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut. He started working at age 7, delivering newspapers. He and his brothers all worked to help provide for their family. It was a utilitarian way of life, and it taught him independence. He never had any aspirations about what he wanted to be, he just knew that he had to be something, to earn his own way. Fortunately, in high school a teacher took interest in him and convinced him that he had a mind, and that he should make good use of it. As a result, Amendola enrolled in a state college, the first member of his family to do so.

He attended Southern Connecticut State University, where he had no intention of becoming an actor. But as destiny has it, when he was a freshman, he literally stumbled into an audition. This led to a tiny role in The Tempest, and from there two more plays and participation in almost every Shakespeare festival. He graduated in 1974 and went on to attend Temple University in Philadelphia, graduating in 1977 with a Master of Fine Arts Degree. His first employment out of school was in a film archive, most likely in New York. There he was able to gain invaluable experience from his work and from the opportunity of being able to view many great films. In 1978, he decided to move out west to find work in film and television. He stayed in Seattle, Washington, for about a year, but decided California was where he needed to be. He settled in Berkeley for a few years and then made his way to Los Angeles. Though this move was originally meant to be temporary, he lives there with his wife to this day.

Amendola has played a big role in the preservation of a classical theater ensemble in California. In 1990, he became a member of a pilot study group called the Antaeus Project. They, with the help of the Mark Taper Forum, decided to explore the possibilities of creating a classical ensemble in Los Angeles. Thus, the Antaeus Company was born. He is still on the board of directors and has a role in the company's growth. Amendola is a theater-trained actor, and having spent the first 12 years of his career almost exclusively in the theater, he has a long history of wonderful performances. Some of these include American Buffalo, as Teach; Othello, as Iago; Filumena, as Domenico; and The Taming of the Shrew, as Petruchio.

The talent he has displayed on the stage has translated beautifully onto the screen as well. He has starred in Mask of Zorro, as Don Luiz; Follow the River, as LaPlante; Lonestar, as Chucho Montoya; and last but most certainly not least, has brought his powerful presence to a recurring role on Stargate SG-1 as Master Bra'tac.

Amendola carries an air of confidence and magnetism that sweeps the audience into his character and the story. He is 5'10" and speaks Spanish and Italian. Some of his interests include Italian cooking, museums, art galleries, and yoga. Amendola's favorite charities are Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, and the American Red Cross. His favorite play is The Taming of the Shrew]] and his favorite Stargate SG-1 episode is "Threshold."

Little-Known Facts

Amendola often wears a necklace called the Crossing Key, also known as the Key of Creativity through Challenge. He got the necklace at the 2000 BOBW convention in Sydney, Australia, from Intuitive Express, and can be seen wearing it in many of his photographs.

He and his wife, Judith Marx, narrated a book together called An Unfinished Life, by Mark Spragg.

External Links

• Selmak.Org
• TonyAmendola.net
• Amendola@yahoogroups.com Unofficial Email Discussion Group
• Tony Amendola at IMDB.com
• Upcoming TV Schedule by IMDB.com

To see specific information, such as individual movies, please click the Tny Amendola category link at the bottom of this article. To see other articles that reference Tony Amendola, please click the What Links Here tool in the toolbox at the bottom of this page.